 ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS GREG ABBOTT | |
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February 13, 2012 Ms. Jordan Hale Assistant Attorney General Assistant Public Information Coordinator General Counsel Division Office of the Attorney General P.O. Box 12548 Austin, Texas 78711-2548 OR2012-02274 Dear Ms. Hale: You ask whether certain information is subject to required public disclosure under chapter 552 of the Government Code. Your request was assigned ID# 446399 (PIR No. 11-32289). The Office of the Attorney General (the "OAG") received a request for information concerning an investigation of a named former precinct judge. The OAG asserts the information is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.107 and 552.108 of the Government Code. We have considered the OAG's claimed exceptions to disclosure and have reviewed the submitted sample of information. (1) Section 552.108(a) excepts from disclosure information held by a law enforcement agency or prosecutor that deals with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime if release of the information would interfere with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime. Gov't Code § 552.108(a)(1). Generally, a governmental body claiming section 552.108(a)(1) must reasonably explain how and why release of the requested information would interfere with law enforcement. See id. § 552.301(e)(1)(a); see also Ex parte Pruitt, 551 S.W.2d 706 (Tex. 1977). The OAG argues section 552.108(a)(1) is applicable because the information relates to a pending criminal case conducted by its Law Enforcement Division. Based upon this representation, we conclude release of the information would interfere with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime. See Houston Chronicle Publ'g Co. v. City of Houston, 531 S.W.2d 177 (Tex. Civ. App.--Houston [14th Dist.] 1975) (court delineates law enforcement interests that are present in active cases), writ ref'd n.r.e. per curiam, 536 S.W.2d 559 (Tex. 1976). Thus, the OAG has shown the applicability of section 552.108(a)(1) of the Government Code. However, section 552.108 does not except from disclosure basic information about an arrested person, an arrest, or a crime. Gov't Code § 552.108(c). Basic information refers to the information held to be public in Houston Chronicle Publishing Co. Thus, with the exception of the basic front page offense and arrest information, the OAG may withhold the requested information from disclosure based on section 552.108(a)(1). Because section 552.108(a)(1) is dispositive, we do not address the OAG's section 552.107 assertion. This letter ruling is limited to the particular information at issue in this request and limited to the facts as presented to us; therefore, this ruling must not be relied upon as a previous determination regarding any other information or any other circumstances. This ruling triggers important deadlines regarding the rights and responsibilities of the governmental body and of the requestor. For more information concerning those rights and responsibilities, please visit our website at http://www.oag.state.tx.us/open/index_orl.php, or call the Office of the Attorney General's Open Government Hotline, toll free, at (877) 673-6839. Questions concerning the allowable charges for providing public information under the Act must be directed to the Cost Rules Administrator of the Office of the Attorney General, toll free, at (888) 672-6787. Sincerely, Yen-Ha Le Assistant Attorney General Open Records Division YHL/som Ref: ID# 446399 Enc: Submitted documents c: Requestor (w/o enclosures) Footnotes1. We assume the representative sample of records submitted to this office is truly representative of the requested records as a whole. See Open Records Decision Nos. 499 (1988), 497 (1988). This open records letter does not reach, and therefore does not authorize the withholding of, any other requested records to the extent those records contain substantially different types of information than that submitted to this office.
POST OFFICE BOX 12548, AUSTIN, TEXAS 78711-2548 TEL: (512) 463-2100 WEB: WWW.OAG.STATE.TX.US |